Capturing the world through photography, video and multimedia

Shaking dogs, Instagram ads, stabilizer chicken and Vine

Shaking Dogs — I may not be the perfect person to review dog photographs because I like all photos of dogs. Photographer Carli Davidson has taken dog portraits to a new level with her high-speed technique photography of dog shaking. Everyone has seen their dogs shaking after getting wet or drinking water, but these stop-action, high-quality photographs bring a new light on the subject with floppy ears, jowls, fur, eyes and wet noses flying in every direction. Over 100 dogs were photographed and 61 dogs were selected with two photographs of each dog displayed side-by-side in her new book, “SHAKE.” Seventy percent of the dogs featured in the book are rescues. Also included in the book is a section on the technique of pet photography.

Instagram ads — You knew they were coming; it was only a matter of time. I just received my first one. Giving away free service on the Internet is a thing of the past. Instagram is ready to start cashing in on its incredible photo-sharing success with what it calls “Sponsored Photos and Video.” The company spins it this way: “We’re working to make sure that ads stay true to the spirit of the Instagram.” What the heck does that mean? No ads would be in the spirit of the Instagram community. You’re trying to tell me there are different kinds of ads? They say, “Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as the photo and video many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands.” Please help me out here — ads are ads. They also want to show high-quality and engaging ads; now I’m really confused. The real problem is the frequency of the ads, not the content. I am still on Instagram — it’s my favorite photo-sharing app and changing to something new is just too much work, so bring on the ads.

Stabilizer Chicken — Making a great video without any shaky camera movement and without using a tripod is no easy task. This is especially true if you’re going to be shooting action sports. It can be accomplished in a variety of ways; optically within the camera or digitally after you take your video. The other option is using steady cam rigs, which can be bulky and heavy, and not to mention, expensive. Now there seems to be another option as the YouTube video “Steady Feathers” illustrates. It features cameraman Dave having a lot of fun taking amazing action shots with a miniature HD camera affixed to the top of a mini-helmet that fits on top of a chicken’s head. This very popular video netted about 3.5 million views in just a couple of weeks. It’s sponsored by LG, who is promoting its G2 smartphone camera and optical stabilization. This chicken has more fun than anyone I know, going sky-diving, kayaking and motorcycle riding. LG was not the first to use a chicken as a stabilization device, but its video is certainly the most creative.

Vine — The six-second video-sharing service has added two new features called Sessions and Time Travel. These are much-needed features to help the company compete with Instagram’s new video feature. I just found it too difficult to come up with creative video for the six-second format, without being able to stop, edit and go to other apps before returning to shooting more video. The new feature allows you to stop and return to your video later. You’re allowed to have up to 10 video sessions at a time. Most important is the ability to add, remove and reorder you clips before sharing.

Instagram for Nokia with Windows 8 — It looks like a version of Instagram for the Nokia Windows smartphone is on the way. It’s about time. This addition to the lineup will help, but I’m not sure how the Windows 8 phone software is going to compete without the most popular apps.

iPads — The new lighter iPad Air is going to be very tempting for me. My first generation iPad is getting a little old. The brighter Retina display, long battery life, lighter weight and faster processor looks great.